


These Days Matter

by twentysevensummers



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hopeful Ending, Implied/Referenced Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:14:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23253025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twentysevensummers/pseuds/twentysevensummers
Summary: The summer after Sirius's death, Remus ensures that Harry stays with the Weasleys.
Relationships: Remus Lupin & Harry Potter
Comments: 10
Kudos: 109





	These Days Matter

**Author's Note:**

> This story came about when I wanted to write something hopeful about Remus and Harry dealing with the aftermath of Book Five.

  


It is Arthur Weasley who finally suggests it.

Remus has just finished giving his latest Order report at the Weasley kitchen table, and the children are starting to appear for breakfast, Ginny arguing loudly with one of the twins, and Ron shuffling in behind them, yawning. Arthur leans in slightly and says to Remus, "You should visit Harry, you know."

Remus is saved from an immediate answer when the Weasley family owl arrives at the window, stealing Arthur's attention for the next moment. While the Daily Prophet is fetched from the owl's beak, Remus reflects on the letter from Harry it had delivered two days before, as they were all sipping their breakfast juice.

He had found it incredibly difficult to focus while Molly had read the letter aloud to the room. Recent hurt had constricted his chest at the reminder of what Harry had meant to Sirius, and Sirius to Harry, leaving him numb and blank. He would be lying if he claimed that the prospect of visiting Harry now didn't conjure a similar response in him.

However, the last few weeks for Remus have felt like nothing but a series of tasks to complete, one after another, and he considers that perhaps this is just one more item to add to the list, one more thing he can manage.

"You're absolutely right," Remus hears himself say. "I'll go this week."

  


* * *

  


It takes a few days for Dumbledore's warning of a visitor to reach Harry, but once Remus is given the all-clear, he Apparates to Surrey.

He gives three raps to the Dursley's front door before it is pulled open by Harry's uncle, who aims an unfriendly, narrow-eyed look at Remus before bellowing over his shoulder, "Boy! Get down here!"

Harry appears behind his uncle almost immediately. "No need to shout," he says coldly. To Remus, he seems distracted, with his gaze in the direction of the kitchen rather than the doorway.

Harry's uncle's face begins to turn a slight shade of plum, but he takes another glance at Remus on the threshold and appears to decide that a row with his nephew, in this company, is not worth the trouble. "He's leaving with you today?" he says harshly, instead.

Harry looks up sharply, and Remus catches his eye, regretting the hopeful flash he sees. He sighs. "No, I'm just here for a visit, I'm afraid. Harry?"

Harry leans down to tie his trainers and says, "We'll go for a walk. Be back before dinner." Remus isn't sure whether he is speaking more to Remus or his uncle, since he isn't looking at either of them.

"By five," corrects Harry's uncle. "You're not getting out of cooking dinner, boy."

Harry simply nods, his eyes cast downward on his trainers. Once the laces are tied, he pulls himself up from his crouch and makes a wide path around his uncle to meet Remus in the doorway.

Together, they walk down the front garden of Number Four.

  


* * *

  


The conversation begins just as Remus had expected, with Harry asking his carefully accumulated questions about Voldemort, and the Order, and his friends. Remus gives him the answers he had rehearsed over the past few days, promising more information once Harry's location is more secure, and uncharacteristically, Harry accepts his words without complaint.

Harry eventually leads them to an empty park, where they sit together on a bench. After a moment, Remus glances over at the boy, who is now hunched over and staring at his hands in his lap.

"How are you doing?" he asks quietly.

Harry lets out an almost silent sigh, shifting uncomfortably, and doesn't speak immediately.

When he finally does, he's so quiet that Remus has to strain to hear. "I miss my friends," he admits.

Remus wants to say, _ While we're being honest, so do I, _ but instead, he says, "I'm sorry, Harry," and places a tentative hand on Harry's back. Harry accepts it, still looking down.

They sit in silence for a long moment, until Remus, perhaps against his better judgment, says, "I'll speak to Dumbledore. See if we can get you moved to the Burrow. If possible."

Harry's expression turns grateful, and Remus knows how vital it will be that he follows through on his promise.

They sit quietly for several more minutes, the only sound a high squeaking from a nearby swing pulled by the wind.

Then, thoroughly surprising Remus, Harry asks, "Will you be there? At the Burrow?"

Remus remembers the days after Halloween in 1981, when all he could manage was getting out of bed on most days, combing his hair and keeping himself fed. Night and day had felt indistinguishable.

He considers how around that same time, Harry had been taken to live with relatives who clearly never loved him, while Remus had shut himself away. The guilt surrounding that has never left him, and he would be the first to argue that he doesn't think it should.

These are the thoughts that push Remus to answer with, "Yes, I think so."

  


* * *

  


By the middle of July, Harry has moved in with the Weasleys, and Remus is staying in their small bedroom off the sitting room. "For as long as you need," Arthur had said to Remus.

Remus focuses on performing work for the Order, but his evenings are for dinner with the Weasleys, Hermione, and Harry. While it takes some getting used to, he starts to appreciate the chaotic house and how each day in it seems less painful to face.

After dinner, when he moves to the Weasley's sitting room with a book, Harry often follows. The boy settles into the chair across from Remus's, and on some evenings, Remus tells stories about Lily, James, and Sirius. Once he starts talking, he finds it difficult to stop. There are few people alive he can share these stories with anymore.

Once, Harry falls asleep while listening to Remus, so that Remus has to shake his shoulder to wake him. Harry smiles blearily at him and mumbles, "Thanks, Remus," before dragging himself up to bed.

Remus wonders what he has done to deserve Harry's gratitude. Regardless, he is relieved to see him smile.

  


* * *

  


It's Harry's birthday, and gifts are stacked up next to his dinner plate, which had been full of shepherd's pie but is now only crumbs. The atmosphere in the Weasley kitchen is cheerful, and to Remus's pleasure, Harry also appears to be in good spirits.

Remus simply observes as Ron jokes with Harry and claps him on the back, causing Harry to retaliate with a playful shove in his friend's direction. Ginny and Hermione are suggesting which gifts Harry should open next. Crookshanks winds around Remus's legs, and he reaches down to give the cat a scratch behind the ears, feeling at peace.

That day's Order meeting had been a long agenda of bad news, but he finds that in this setting, he can't dwell on it too much.

Harry is opening Remus's gift, a new Defense book to match his rapidly growing skills. Harry grins as he pulls back the paper, then seeks Remus from across the table, cutting through the lighthearted conversation of the room to thank him.

Remus marvels at how he, Remus, can possibly feel grateful, too, when so many bad things have happened to him in his lifetime.

_ Or, perhaps, _ Remus reconsiders a moment later, admiring Harry and his resilience, and maybe even his own, if he's being charitable,  _ it isn't so surprising at all. _

  


**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Follow me [on tumblr](https://twentysevensummers.tumblr.com/)!


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